This paper focuses on recent Japanese law regarding alternative dispute management tools (ADR). Since ADRs are tools born within American legal culture, their introduction in Japan constitutes a specific case of legal transplant, with significant consequences in terms of acceptance by the receiving legal system. The relative lack of litigation in Japanese society compared to that of most Western countries has long suggested that there is little room in the Japanese system for judicial instruments of dispute resolution. This perspective has led to the development of cultural stereotypes which scholars have increasingly questioned. On the other hand, there are a number of conciliation instruments in Japan, both coded into laws and existing informally which potentially compete with the ADR instruments promoted by the State.